Autumn
by Time Signature
Summary: "A ruby leaf, guided by the wind, falls onto the page." One-shot that can either be taken as LGS or Conflictingshipping. It was supposed to be LGS, though.


Autumn

(Dis)claimer: I do not own Pokemon. But, I DO own the cover. Don't dare copy without my permission, okay?

~oOo~

The autumn breeze stirs the leaves beneath the girl's feet and her hat, causing her to hold it in place with one hand while she kept her book open with the other. The pages flap weakly in the wind, lightly hitting her hand.

Leaf stubbornly continues to sit there for a few more minutes, trying futilely to read, until she sighs and stands up. Softly, the reddened foliage of Pinwheel Forest crunches beneath her. Before her, the same leaves whirl as if they are angel wings, some blowing right before her face. Hiding behind her book, she steps out of the wood.

Nacrene City comes into view, boasting its warehouses and – if she stands on her toes – the museum it is famous for. Leaf hears the tiles clack against her shoes softly, mixed with a light accordion tune, as she heads toward the café nearest Pinwheel Forest.

Her feet stop as the melody becomes louder. The girl turns her head to where it comes from, finding a musician standing on the terrace beside the Café Warehouse. Thinking awhile, she eventually decides to join him.

Once he finishes his performance, Leaf claps to show that she has enjoyed it. Then she sits down beside the man and begins to speak.

"Thank you," she smiles. "That was very nice."

The accordionist opens his mouth to answer, but noting that the girl has a faraway look in her eyes, he allows her to carry on.

"That tune…in my hometown, people would dance to it sometimes, like at festivals." He sees that the girl's mind is no longer here, but instead remembering things of the past. "I can't believe that, that I heard a Kanto tune over here. Really, music is a universal language, don't you think?"

She poses it as a question, but only as a rhetorical question, so he stays silent. Hugging the book with one arm, Leaf continues, most likely forgetting that she was talking to someone, "And we would hold hands. And we would dance together…"

She does not notice the lone tear slide down her cheek. Next to her, the man wordlessly starts playing the same tune once again, this time at a low volume so as to not disturb her.

In her mind, Leaf sees a younger version of herself hand in hand with a spiky-haired boy, laughing merrily as the lights bob in the night wind. The music coming from the accordion next to her blends with the music in her memory, washing over her. She recalls how her other friend had already gone off to eat, shouting that he would be back soon (but he didn't, really,) and how the brunet had teased him when he came back.

She recalls how the boy had made her a crown of flowers, saying proudly that he "could do anything." And she remembers how she had reproached him that he was a bit too confident.

The words, thoughts, pictures, wishes, spilling out of her mouth are just whispers by now, but she does not care. Beside her, the man presses the keys on his accordion.

The noon sun that had stained the scarlet leaves to a light orange is now those colors itself. Leaf, finishing her long tale, finally stands up, and saying a word of thanks to the performer who had listened, she leaves. The melody has hints of melancholy, the lingering of her wishes for him to be here.

The girl wanders for a short while, but eventually she ends up at the forest, again. The corners of her mouth curve slightly as she reopens her book to the page she left off and starts to read. The dim light fades until it is replaced by the moon, paling the vivid shades of the carpet surrounding her.

Leaf slowly drifts into sleep, leaning against the tree, but the book stays open. And as Cresselia watches, a ruby leaf, guided by the wind, falls onto the page.

-0-

The next morning, the girl wakes up and feels an extra weight above her hat. She shakes off the sleepiness and lifts her head to find the very same boy she had thought of yesterday, smirking.

Leaf places a hand on her head to find a fiery crown of fallen leaves. She murmurs, "Why are you here," but soon stops and says her own answer.

"I granted you crimson wings, didn't I?"

He does not understand. To say the truth, she does not, either, but she knows, she simply knows –

that autumn has given him the wings to come to her.

~oOo~

Author's note: How did you enjoy Autumn? It started out as a drabble that I wrote just to showcase the cover, but it ended up quite nicely, I think. The last scene was inspired by the Touhou song "Priere." Something to get me out of the writer's block I was experiencing.

Thanks for reading!

Time Signature


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